Linda Castillo Books In Order – Complete List

New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo is best known for her popular Kate Burkholder crime thriller series set in Amish County.

Reading the author’s books in order means picking up the book series, which currently includes over ten books and several short novellas. Of course, you also have the author’s second series, Operation: Midnight, and High Country Heroes, which are also worth reading in order. The author has several standalone books as well.

Latest Linda Castillo Books

Dark Storm Rising
Dark Storm Rising (Kate Burkholder #15.5), 2024
The Burning
The Burning (Kate Burkholder #16), 2024

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Kate Burkholder Books in Publication Order

  1. Sworn to Silence, 2009
  2. Pray for Silence, 2010
  3. Breaking Silence, 2011
  4. Gone Missing, 2011
  5. Her Last Breath, 2013
  6. The Dead Will Tell, 2014
  7. After the Storm, 2015
  8. Among the Wicked, 2016
  9. Down a Dark Road, 2017
  10. A Gathering of Secrets, 2018
  11. Shamed, 2019
  12. Outsider, 2020
  13. Fallen, 2021
  14. The Hidden One, 2022
  15. An Evil Heart, 2023
  16. The Burning, 2024

Kate Burkholder Short Stories and Novellas in Publication Order

Short Story Collections in Publication Order

Operation: Midnight Books in Publication Order

  1. Operation: Midnight Tango (#1), 2005
  2. Operation: Midnight Escape (#2), 2005
  3. Operation: Midnight Guardian (#3), 2006
  4. Operation: Midnight Rendezvous (#4), 2006
  5. Operation: Midnight Cowboy (#5), 2007

High Country Heroes Books in Publication Order

Series Contributed To in Publication Order

Standalone Novels in Order of Publication

Short Story Anthologies

Linda Castillo Biography

Linda Castillo books in order

Born in 1960 in a small farming community in Western Ohio (which is also the setting for her Kate Burkholder series), New York Times bestselling author Linda Castillo knew from an early age that she was meant to write novels. She wrote her first story at the age of 13.

She met her husband in 1985. She lives in the Texas Panhandle on a small ranch with her husband, working on her next novels. In her spare time, she loves riding horses on her property.

Sworn to Silence, her debut thriller is also the first in her popular Kate Burkholder series, which was well-received by readers and critics alike. Her insights into the Amish people and the community is highly regarded. Her books give an interesting glimpse into the people’s lives, particularly that the Amish are rather closed to the outsides and often their lives are a mystery.

She did extensive research, read a few scholarly books on the topic, and lived with several Amish families during her trips to Ohio for research. Her books won so far several nominations and industry awards.

I have read several novels from her book list, including some of her romantic suspense stories, and if I have to choose, I’d definitely go with her Kate Burkholder series. I love that book series. Kate is a young Amish girl living in a quiet, peaceful rural town called Painters Mill, Ohio. After a series of tragic events that left Kate scarred emotionally and psychologically, she left the place, seemingly for good.

Years later, she is asked to return to the town, and now she has a new capacity: Chief of Police Kate Burkholder. In each of the books, Kate is called to solve various crimes of murder and bring the killers to justice.

The Kate Burkholder novels should be read in chronological order, since each novel builds up (in terms of character progression) from the previous to the next.

Who is Kate Burkholder?

Kate Burkholder grew up among the Amish, however, at the age of 14, she was sexually molested and survived the brutal attack of the Slaughterhouse Killer, following which she left the Amish community at the age of 18 when she no longer believed in her folks. This caused a rift between her and her folks who didn’t see kindly to her leaving them.

Now, at the age of 30, Kate returned home to the sleepy rural town of Painter’s Mill Ohio. Over the years she has become a respected, strong person who believes in herself. She is now also a respected police officer. Due to her ties to the Amish in the area, she has now been promoted to Chief of Police Kate Burkholder for the town. Since she is now near the Amish and some of her investigations take her to her folks, her job takes her to increased interactions with them.

She is pretty sure that she has come to terms with her horrible experience in the past right until her first case in town when a body is found in a snowy field and she has to investigate. With each further case, Kate has to break somehow the silence that is so characteristic of the Amish people to try to find the killers she is after.

Linda Castillo Novel Adaptations

The novel Sworn to Silence was made into a two-hour movie titled An Amish Murder in 2013. It features Neve Campbell as Kate Burkholder and Christian Campbell as Jacob Burkholder. Other actors were C. Thomas Howell as Nathan Detrick and Noam Jenkins as John Tomasetti.

The screenplay was written by Mark Malone and it was brought to screen by director Stephen Gyllenhaal.

Linda Castillo Awards and Nominations

  • Her Last Breath was nominated for the ITW Award for Best Hardcover Novel in 2014
  • Hallowed Ground received the Edgar Award for Best Short Story in 2024
  • The author received the Daphne du Maurier Award and the Holt Medallion
  • She has been nominated for the RITA Award, and for the Mystery Writers of America’s Sue Grafton Memorial Award, and an “Audie Award” for best mystery audiobook

16 Comments

  1. Enjoying the
    Kate Burkholter series. By chance I bought Shamed not realizing it was a part of a series. Therefore, I have not read the books in chronological order. Enjoyed each one except the one where underground tunnels were involved.
    I am now aware Of more Linda Castillo books..my question is does Linda do all of the writing herself? It seems like an impossible task. Excellent writer.

  2. Totally addicted to Castillo’s riveting Katie Burkholder
    Series and my partner and I can hardly wait for the next !!
    Beautifully written, each work is unique. We read them until the wee hours of the morning . Hard to read anything else once you are hooked!!!

  3. This is written to Rose Marie’s question. You mentioned you don’t have a kindle and would like to hear A Hidden Secret. I don’t have a kindle but I have the kindle app on my iPhone. I am able to get the books on my kindle app without having a kindle maybe you could use that. The novellas are a fun addition to her series.

  4. @Carol, yes, it’s better to read the Kate Burkholder series in order. The Linda Castillo books are better enjoyed this way.

  5. Should I read the Kate Burkholder books in order? I’ve already read #6 before I found out it’s part of a series.

  6. I’ve listened to as audio books through my local library. So well narrated you fall right into the stories, which of course are are amazing

  7. I have read every one of Linda’s Kate series. I need to read one more, which is only ebook. I look forward to her next Kate series. I just can’t put the book down once I start reading. Excellent. She is the best author ever. I have read many books in my life but nobody as great as Linda Castillo.

  8. So far I have read 6 of the Kate Burkholder series. Love them all! Please write more of them. I am running out.

  9. More, More More Kate Burkholder series, I am enthralled by Linda’s books, I have everyone and can’t wait for the next one to come out. Thank you

    1. Unfortunately no, because it is a short eBook, not a full novel. These short stories are always only published in eBook format, unless the author decides to bundle one together with the next book as part of a bonus.

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